How Do I Deal
by Marree
Summary: Fill in the blank, Laguna is to Squall as Cid is to ______.
1. Part 1

How Do I Deal  
by Mariye  
  
======  
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own a thing here and I'm proud of it. Why? I  
don't know. Still, I'm proud. Where did I get the whole baby idea?  
Well, it was all my friend's fault! She left this cheesy dumb romance   
book at my house, not that I actually read it... umm... lets just get  
to the story o^-^o!  
======  
  
The doctor smiled at the woman sitting across from him. They were   
separated by his huge oak desk.   
  
"Congratulations Mrs. Kramer. You're going to have a baby."   
  
He expected happiness. Joy. The woman's face was blank.  
  
"Mrs. Kramer?"  
  
"Oh... oh, thank you." She said, hesitantly. She rubbed her hands   
together.  
  
"Is this an unwanted pregnancy?" He asked, starting to get up. "If  
so, there are many alternatives..."  
  
"No... its not that. Its not that at all." She got up. "Excuse me   
please. I must be going."  
  
As she walked out, the doctor shook his head.   
  
~Thats new. Never had a woman act like that when she found out she  
was pregnant...~  
  
---  
  
"You're sure?" Cid asked as he looked at his wife. Edea sat on a couch  
in their small house.  
  
"Positive. The doctor confirmed it." She kept her eyes on the floor.  
  
"What do you want to do? I mean, things are tight now, with us trying  
to raise money for my Garden ideas and you starting an orphanage soon,  
but we can always get by. We'll find a way." Cid sat down next to her  
and tried to put an arm around her to comfort her.  
  
"Its not that. It isn't that at all." She moved away and let out a   
huge sigh.  
  
"You don't want to have it?"  
  
"Him. Its a him. And of course I want to have it. I could never even  
imagine killing a child. Its just... I don't know what kind of life  
we can offer him. If we kept him, he'd be poor. Plus when people   
found out his mother is a sorceress..." She folded her arms across  
her stomach. "And you starting you SeeDs and Gardens." She walked   
toward the one window in the room and looked out.  
  
"I want him to have a chance at a better life. To not have to worry  
about him being forced into an army. Or being a mindless soldier. Or   
about him being teased and persecuted about having an 'evil sorceress'   
for a mother." Cid got up and put his hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Then... maybe it would all be best if he was put up for adoption."  
  
"No. I can't. Even though he doesn't even really exist yet. Its   
like... because of my powers, I'm already attached to him. I know him.   
We share a bond. I don't know what we should do..."  
  
"We'll figure something out. Don't worry. Everything will turn out for  
the best."  
  
"I hope so."  
  
---  
  
Edea sat up in the bed. A nurse carrying a small bundle came in.  
  
"Someone wanted to see you." She put the blue blanket in Edea's arms.  
  
"Thank you." Edea took the baby from her.  
  
"Oh, we will need his name. For the birth certificate and all. Cid  
chose that moment to walk in. Edea looked at him.  
  
"Seifer. Seifer Almasy."  
  
"But... I thought your last name was Kramer?"  
  
"I promised my family that since I was an only child, I would give my  
son my maiden name so our family name would go on."  
  
"Oh. Alright then. I'll be back later." The nurse smiled and walked  
away. Cid came over and looked at the baby.  
  
"I thought you had two brothers."  
  
"She doesn't know that."  
  
"I'm assuming you've figured out some plan for him then..." Cid touched  
the baby's small hand.  
  
"I'll raise him, but with the other orphans in the orphanage. That   
way he'll have all the chances at things we can't offer him, but we'll  
still be able to know him." She touched his head. "At least I'll   
still be able to have Seifer this way..."  
  
======  
  
[the end]  
  
This may not be that good... it took me like 10 min, so... I just  
got FF8 for my PC and I started over. I just won the Seifer card from  
Cid and I started thinking, if Laguna had Squall's card because   
Squall is his son, then maybe that was why Cid had Seifer's card...  



	2. Part 2

How Do I Deal   
Part 2  
by Mariye  
  
======  
Disclaimer: I didn't mean for this to turn into a series, but, oh well.  
Plus the title still fits for this one. Seifer finds out who his  
parents really are. Oh yeah, I don't own that characters.  
======  
  
Edea walked through Balamb, smiling at the happy people around her.  
She wished she could stop and chat with the locals. Maybe eat at the  
cafe. But today was about business. Family business.  
  
"You shouldn't tell him. He wouldn't take it well. Finding out all   
this now." She thought about the argument she had had with Cid before  
leaving to come here.  
  
"He has a right to know who his family is. Especially when they're   
right in front of him." She had argued.  
  
"Yes, but you don't know him!"  
  
"He's my own son! I should know my own son."  
  
"And what about when you were possessed by Ultimecia? She used him and  
you."  
  
"He was a puppet, just like I was. That may have even been why   
Ultimecia chose to make him a puppet, because of the family ties."  
  
"Well I know you'll just do your own thing. Remember that you're   
making a mistake."   
  
"You're the one making the mistake. By not coming with me."   
  
It was then Edea was jolted out of her fantasy by a commotion that  
was being made out on the docks. She looked up and saw Seifer, Raijin,  
and Fujin standing there laughing. She walked over to a truck parked  
nearby and stood beside it, watching what happened. The three talked  
a bit, then Fujin and Raijin excused themselves. Edea looked down  
at her watch.   
  
~I guess their lunch break's over and they're heading back to Garden.  
I wonder why Seifer doesn't ask to be permitted back in...~ She   
watched as Fujin and Raijin walked past her, and as they smiled and  
warmly greeted her, she gave a small smile in return. She looked back  
at the dock, at the young man collecting his things.  
  
~Maybe this is a mistake.~ She thought. She held her head, and looked  
away. She looked back at Balamb.   
  
~I know what happens if I walk that way. I walk back to Garden and he  
never finds out.~ She turned and looked at the docks. ~But that way...  
I don't know...~ She stood up straight and walked towards Seifer.   
~I always was too curious for my own good.~ She thought as she walked   
right up to him.  
  
"Hello Seifer."  
  
"What took you so long?"  
  
"You saw me over there?"  
  
"No. But I knew eventually you'd come. Gonna try and apologize? Tell   
me your sorry and wish you could take it all back?"  
  
"Why would I say that? You know as well as I do that we were both   
possessed by Ultimecia." Edea tried to help him with his fishing   
supplies. He pushed her hands away and grabbed everything.  
  
"Guilt? Depression? Pity? How the hell should I know." He started to  
walk away. Edea followed behind him.  
  
"We need to talk."  
  
"What? About the good old times we had controlling Galbadia and   
destroying people's lives? Oh fine then, lets reminise." He spun   
around to look at her.  
  
"No. About family." Seifer looked at her oddly.  
  
"Oh what, now that Puberty Boy found his daddy you're gonna tell me a   
have a mommy and daddy who wanna see me too?" Seifer shook his head.  
~Like they'd ever wanna see a failure. Even if they were alive and   
cared.~  
  
"Yes. You do, and they do." Edea looked at him. ~How to tell him...  
Cid is right... he is a difficult stubborn young man. He reminds me   
of how I once used to be.~   
  
"So what do you want me to do? A happy little dance? Oh goody, after  
being bounced around from orphanage to orphanage I finally have a   
family. And even though they gave me up when I was little, all that   
matters is now, when I'm at my lowest point, they wanna see me."   
Seifer started walking away. "Go find the parents of some other   
orphanage brat. This one doesn't need his."  
  
Edea felt her eyes start to fill with tears. ~Well what did you expect?  
Happiness? Him to hug you and both of you going back to Garden? A   
happy family?~ She turned her head away.  
  
"You look just like him when he was young." She shouted to the man  
walking away from her. He stopped, but didn't turn to face her.  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Your father. I should show you a picture someday. Its a shame you got  
my attitude though." Seifer seemed to stop to think, but didn't say  
anything. Edea walked up to him and touched his shoulder. He recoiled  
from her hand, and she pulled away.  
  
"We need to have a long talk one of these days. There are a lot of   
things you need to hear."  
  
"No we don't need to talk. There's nothing to talk about." Seifer   
looked her right in the eyes. "I have parents who even though they   
were capable of taking care of me and raising me, left me and let me  
get bounced around as a ward of the dukedom." He started to leave her.  
"I know all I need to know."  
  
"But, if you ever want to know anything, you know where Cid and I   
will be." Edea said as she watched him disappear down the street, and  
maybe out of her life forever.  
  
======  
  
[the end]  
  
A/N: But.... if you wanna know what happens, review and let me know  
and I'll write another part. 


	3. Part 3

How Do I Deal  
Part 3  
by Mariye  
  
======  
Disclaimer: No, I don't own anything here. Isn't that sad?   
A/N: Know what's sad, I've played this game for like months and only just found out Raijin and Fujin are brother and sister. (Well, it is kinda hard to tell. Maybe they're adopted brother/sister act.)  
A/N: I am starting a FF8 Fanfiction Mailing list. To join, review and put subscribe in the message.  
======  
  
Seifer walked into the Balamb bar.  
  
~Yeah, like my life wasn't complicated enough.~ He sat down and pulled  
out his fake id. The bartender looked at him skeptically, put got him  
a beer anyway.   
  
~Just what I needed to know. Well, know I know why Cid always went   
easy on me and the Disciplinary Committee everytime there was a...  
misunderstanding. Guilt. Guilt that he had an incredibly talented son  
and just dumped him off.~ The waitress came up to him.  
  
"So your little friends gonna come again and drag you out once you get  
too drunk to walk?"  
  
"Who knows. Who cares." Seifer finished the bottle and pushed it   
aside, waiting for another.  
  
The waitress shook her head.   
  
~Shame. He reminds me of my nephew.~ The woman thought as she   
disappeared. Seifer sat at the bar, staring at the wood counter.  
  
~How did Squall ever take all this thinking. Damn, drives me crazy.  
Well, at least I can dull the voices.~ He looked up as the bartender  
pushed another bottle his way.  
  
---  
  
"Closing time!" The bartender hit Seifer's shoulder, waking him up.  
  
"I said closing time. So pay up and move out." Seifer blinked twice  
before realizing where he was. He searched through his pockets.  
  
"I'll pay you tomorrow." The bartender squinted his eyes at him.  
  
"You said that yesterday and the week before punk."  
  
"Don't push me." Seifer half-fell, half-jumped off the barstool and   
faced the bartender, holding Hyperion out at him.  
  
"Like I'm supposed to be scared of you? Boys, take care of him and  
toss him out with the trash." The bartender walked away as the three  
bouncers walked over. Seifer tried to slash at them, but the alcohol  
in his system threw off his balance and judgement and he ended up   
falling to the ground. The three picked him up and threw him out into  
the street.  
  
"Hey, what's that weapon he's holding?" One of them asked as the other  
two beat him.  
  
"Gunblade. Pretty rare."  
  
"Think its worth anything?"  
  
"Probably. If not, we can scrap it for parts."   
  
"Cool."  
  
The largest of them pried Hyperion out of Seifer's hands. They heard a  
car coming and then ran back into the bar. As the car came closer, a  
woman's head peeked out.  
  
"SEIFER?"  
  
"What, something wrong Fuj? What's up? I wanna know ya know. Woah."  
  
The car stopped and the two ran out to him.  
  
"Seifer man, you alright? Say something ya know!"  
  
"COME ON! HELP." Fujin started trying to lift him.  
  
"Is that smart?" Raijin looked sideways at her, she shook her head.  
  
"NEEDS MEDICAL ATTENTION. TAKE HOME."  
  
"Yeah, Dr. Kadowaki is the best in the area, ya know." Raijin said as  
he helped Fujin move Seifer into the car.  
  
---  
  
"Seifer? Can you hear me?" Seifer opened his eyes. His head was   
pounding, and his side and legs ached. He also couldn't move his arm.  
He turned his head to see who was talking, and saw Dr. Kadowaki.  
  
"You're lucky to have friends like Fujin and Raijin. If they hadn't   
been there, who knows what would have happened."  
  
"Where am I?"  
  
"Garden. They brought you here about 2 AM this morning. They violated  
curfew for you, and from what Raijin was telling me, it wasn't the   
first time..."  
  
"What happened?" Seifer asked as he tried to sit up, a stabbing pain  
made him reconsider and he slid back down.  
  
"Based on your blood tests, you were drunk, and you probably said a  
little more than you should have. Some punks beat you up and robbed  
you. You're lucky you're alive." Dr. Kadowaki came over with a penlight  
and looked at Seifer's eyes.  
  
"Good, they're focusing. At first I thought there might be some   
damage, but you got off lucky."  
  
"Luck, that's a laugh." Seifer looked around the small infirmary   
room. "So, I cause a big stir? Squall's panties all in knots?"  
  
"He wasn't exactly thrilled, but since this was a special case, he  
let you back in. Of course Cid and Edea did a lot of convincing for  
you. You should thank them if they come to see you."  
  
"Yeah right. I don't owe them anything."   
  
~Except life.~ He silently thought. Dr. Kadowaki went to the door.  
  
"Fujin and Raijin requested that I page them when you regained   
conciousness, do you mind?"  
  
"Why the hell should it matter to me?"  
  
"Fine then." Dr. Kadowaki disappeared into the other room. A few   
minutes later he heard a page go out for Raijin and Fujin. He looked  
around and saw something was missing.  
  
"Hyperion." He whispered, and Fujin ran into the room.  
  
"SEIFER! OKAY?" She asked as she stopped at the side of his bed.  
  
"Yeah, fine. Why did you and tweedle dum have to bring me here?" He   
placed his hand on his head and tried to shake away the dizzy   
feeling.  
  
"BEST CARE. WORRIED." She sat down on the bed next to him.  
  
"Don't be. This is nothing." Raijin came in and looked at Seifer.  
  
"Shit man! I didn't realize they did that much to you, ya know."   
Fujin quickly rose up and ran over to Raijin, kicking him hard in the  
leg. Seifer laughed despite the situation he was in.   
  
"RAGE." Fujin walked back over to Seifer's side, as Raijin limped over  
to a chair.  
  
"Did you two get caught because of me?"  
  
"Nah, since you were injured everyone was too preoccupied with that  
to really notice we violated curfew, ya know."  
  
"SORRY."  
  
"What are you apologizing for? I got myself into this. Me and my   
stupid parents were at fault for this, not you."   
  
"WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE. GUIDED YOU BACK HERE. ON RIGHT PATH."  
  
"Wait, what do you mean, ya know? By the parents thing?" Raijin stopped  
rubbing his leg and looked up at Seifer.  
  
"Nothing..." He shook his head and cursed his headache for making him  
say more than he wanted. Fujin saw his apprehension.  
  
"RAIJIN. LETS GO."  
  
"We just got here ya know! Besides, I don't know if I can walk."  
  
"WUSS. BYE SEIFER. REST." Fujin grabbed Raijin's arm and pulled him  
out of the room.  
  
---  
  
"We shouldn't be here. He's gone through enough Edea."  
  
Seifer clenched his eyes shut and rolled over onto his left side.  
  
~Cid? That means Edea is here too. Why?~ He kept up his act.   
  
"Cid, please, talk more softly, you might wake him up, and he needs   
to rest."  
  
"Maybe if you hadn't gone and told him we were his parents, maybe he  
wouldn't have gone in that bar and gotten drunk and into this mess."  
  
"Maybe..."  
  
"How long do you think he'll stay?"  
  
"Only until he can walk out of here. I'm worried about what will   
happen after that. They took his gunblade. He has no weapon and no   
home."  
  
"He's gotten by so far."  
  
"Barely."  
  
"I'll talk to him after he wakes up. Maybe he'll decide to come back  
to Garden."  
  
"Thank you. Should we stay until he wakes up?"  
  
"No. He wouldn't want us to. He sees us as parents who never cared   
before but now care out of pity. We're going to have to work hard to  
show him that isn't true."  
  
Seifer heard footsteps. He assumed the both had left.  
  
"I hope he lets us show that isn't true..." Edea whispered. Seifer  
heard her footsteps as she left.  
  
~So what if they do care? I don't.~  
  
He fell back asleep.  
  
-- three weeks past --  
  
Seifer stood outside the gate to Garden, looking out.  
  
~Damn Fujin and Raijin. Making me wait.~  
  
For the past three weeks Seifer had been stuck in the infirmary. He had only allowed Fujin and Raijin to visit him, and Cid and Edea hadn't stopped by after that one day. Or maybe they did and he didn't know. It really didn't matter to him though.  
  
~If they're not here in two more minutes. Them and their goodbyes. Like I care about shit like that.~ He shook his head and kicked stones lying on the ground.  
  
"Where will you go Seifer?"  
  
He remembered his last conversation with Fujin.  
  
"Away. Maybe Esthar or Galbadia. I'll join the army or something. Maybe work my way up to President or Dictator."  
  
"Is there a difference between the two?"  
  
He remembered smiling when she had said that.  
  
"Nah, not really. All I know's that I want a position in power. Doing something worthwhile."  
  
"You can do something worthwhile here."  
  
"Not with them here."  
  
"Still concerned with Cid and Edea?"  
  
Fujin was the only one he'd told. She was a better listener than her brother, and knew how to keep secrets.   
  
"Why would I be concerned with them?"  
  
"They are your parents."  
  
"No. They aren't."  
  
"SEIFER."   
  
A voice jolted him out of his stupor. Fujin. He pivoted and turned to face the two people running towards him.   
  
"Hey, were you gonna just leave without us? That's not nice, ya know."  
  
"What do you mean without you?" Seifer turned to look at both of them.  
  
"STICK TOGETHER."  
  
"You need us, ya know. We need to help each other out."  
  
Seifer looked at the two of them. They were his best, his only friends.  
  
"This is my path, not yours."  
  
"OUR FATE IS YOURS." Fujin said. He noticed she was carrying a large case, along with a backpack on her back.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"Some reason Cid and Edea told us to give you that, ya know. They said you'd know why. They said there was a note in there too." Raijin grabbed the case out of Fujin's hands. Fujin shot him a harsh glance.  
  
"RAGE."  
  
She kicked him, and he yelped more in surprise than in pain. Seifer took the case and opened it.  
  
"Hyperion..." He said as he took the gunblade out. He pulled out the note attached. He stared at it, then threw it on the ground, along with the case.  
  
"Aren'tcha gonna read it? Raijin asked. Fujin gave him another look and he backed off. "Besides, its not good to litter ya know."  
  
"RAGE!" Fujin pretended to start kicking Raijin and he backed off. Seifer held the gunblade against his shoulder.  
  
"Let's move out DC."  
  
Raijin and Seifer slowly started to walk away. Fujin started to follow, but then turned back and snatched up the note that Edea and Cid had written.  
  
---  
  
Cid and Edea watched the DC disappear past the Garden gates. Cid shook his head and looked away.  
  
"Do you think he'll ever read it?" Edea asked as she placed her hand against the glass.  
  
"Do you think he'll ever come back?" Was all Cid said as an answer. It did answer the question perfectly though.  
  
======  
  
[the end]  
  
If enough people ask I'll write an epilogue involving Fujin reading the note... 


	4. Epilogue

How Do I Deal   
Epilogue  
by Mariye  
  
======  
Disclaimer: Hi! How are you? I'm fine, except I don't own anything here.  
======  
  
Fujin walked through the train cars to the cabin her companions were in.  
  
~Esthar has all this advanced technology and how do they send us grunts from place to place? Trains.~  
  
It really wasn't a bad way to travel. As the Esthar special forces unit they had their own cabin, and sometimes even their own train. Fujin just hated trains to begin with though, so no matter how nice they tried to make it, it still wasn't good enough.  
  
~Too cramped.~ She found the right cabin and walked in. Inside her brother and best friend sat, sleeping.  
  
~How can they do that?~ To her that was unthinkable. She prefered to roam the train while it was running. She hated being cramped in a small train cabin. And although she could sometimes bring herself to doing something other than wandering while riding on the train, sleeping was unthinkable, no matter how late it was or how tired she was. She walked over to a couch, pushed her brother's legs to make room, and sat down. She looked around.  
  
Her adopted brother laid on the seat next to her. Every once and a while a leg or arm twitching. Probably from some dream. She shook her head and patted his leg. She was a little over-protective of her younger 'brother,' but she always managed to hide it. She looked up at the man in the familiar gray trenchcoat and smiled. He was her sole reason for being here. For giving up a life she had grown to love and choosing a new path. He hadn't led them astray though. He led them to Esthar, where President Loire had offered them a place in the army. It was three months since that had happened, and since then they'd been moved up to a special forces unit. One of Esthar's elite and best.   
  
But she still did remember her old home, and miss it sometimes. She looked at her friends and made sure they both were asleep. Then she pulled a tattered note out of her pocket.  
  
The front simply read Seifer. But Seifer would never see it and if he did, he would never open it.  
  
She very silently opened it and read over its contents again...  
  
--{0}--  
Dear Seifer.  
I suppose I should say dear son, but that would only make us both uncomfortable. I found Hyperion for you. Some punks who were inside that bar had it. I went in and I beat up one of them who was trying to sell it, and another when he started bragging about what he did to you. Bet you never thought your old man could fight, huh? Anyway, its a gift. If Edea hadn't gone down to the docks that day and told you, then you might not have gone into that bar and had it stolen in the first place.   
  
But I digress from my true point.  
  
I am sorry. Edea and I should have told you when you were little who exactly you were. We were wrong to keep it from you and allow you to grow up the way you did, thinking you had no one who loved you or cared.   
  
And I know we don't deserve forgiveness. But understand, for all the major points in your life, we were there. When you were a few months old a couple came to adopt you. We couldn't let them. When you took your first steps, you were walking to me. When you were sick with your first cold, Edea and I stayed up all night with you. When you were five and broke your arm, it was Edea who went to the hospital with you and held your hand. When you were 7 I was the only who first started to teach you to use a sword. When you were 12 and decided you wanted to go to Garden, Edea was the one who supported you decision and made the train ride with you. And whenever you were in trouble in Garden, I was always there to make sure you were treated fairly.  
  
We never left your side.  
  
We don't won't forgiveness. We just want you to understand why we did what we did. We wanted you to have a good life. Without being teased about having a sorceress for a mother. We didn't want you to feel you would be forced into a career in Garden. We wanted you to have a chance at a better life.  
  
Please don't let the fact that we are your parents drive you away. Everyone would love to have you back at Garden. With your skills you are a great asset. Also you have friends here who care about you very much.   
  
If you do choose to leave, we won't stop you. It is your life and your choice.  
  
I only hope that one day you will come back to us. Someday.  
  
Sincerely,  
Cid Kramer  
--{0}--  
  
Fujin folded the note gently and put it back in her shirt pocket.  
  
~One day, I will bring him home.~  
  
======  
  
[the end]  
  



End file.
